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Gina Carano’s career has undergone many changes since her debut fight for EliteXC against Julie Kedzie in February 2007. She is now considered one of the top female fighters in the sport, she found a second job as “Crush” on the NBC series American Gladiators, and she is probably one of the most well-known and popular mixed martial arts fighters on the planet regardless of gender.
But with all the newfound fame and all the attention, Carano remains focused on her goals as a fighter and she understands better than anyone that she has room to grow.
“I feel like I have a long way to go,” Carano said in an interview with MMAWeekly Radio. “I just feel like there is so much I want to learn. Every single day at practice I learn something different. There’s so many things you can learn, so many things you can learn about your body, and how it works and you know situations you’re good in, situations you’re bad in.”

It may be enough for a fighter to have their dream come true to participate in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, but to do so in front of your hometown crowd and succeed in spectacular fashion is a whole other thing all together.
Such is the case for longtime Midwest fan favorite Jason Brilz.
Long considered something of a star in the making, Brilz entered UFC Fight Night 15 earlier this month expected to do well, but he did much more than that, dominating Brad Morris en route to a second round TKO.
“It went pretty much how we thought it was going to go,” he said of his win. “I figured he’d probably land a few more shots standing up – we trained for that – but it worked out well for me.
“It was really made special that it was in Omaha, so I had a lot of friends and family (in attendance). The UFC was great, they took care of me and it was a very fun experience.”

CagePotato.com: Hey Chris. Thanks for talking with me. We’re a few weeks out from the fight. How is your preparation coming?
Really good, really well. It’s been long and intense and I’m kind of just getting to the point now where I’m ready to go fight and get this thing over with.
It seems like things really changed for you when you moved to Hawaii. What has that move done for you?
You know, it’s great. Moving to Hawaii is definitely the best thing I’ve ever done in my life. I had the opportunity to be the head coach at Icon and there are a whole bunch of guys out here training with me who are just great. But besides the gym and the wonderful people out here you have the weather and everything that is Hawaii. It’s been really conducive to my training.
I hear a lot of people say you’re much more mature these days, no longer such a wild guy in and out of the cage. What do you think prompted that transformation?
Losing (laughs). You know, I got away with being a brawler for a long time. And it’s hard to change things when they’re working. But when I fought Anderson I realized, I might be able to beat 95% of the guys out there, but I’ll never be a world champion fighting this way. So I had to go back and change a lot of things. That was one part of it.
And the other part was, you know, coaching. Now that I have a team of amateur guys fighting, it’s hard to tell them to do something if you’re not doing it yourself.

One of the busiest fighters in MMA, Yves Edwards, is returning to EliteXC for thie November event. Edwards says although the fight hasn't yet been signed, he expects to face Fabricio Camoes on EXC's November 8 event.

WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres earned his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt over the weekend from Carlson Gracie Jr.-son of the late Carlson Gracie Sr. who was “Angel’s” mentor before he died in 2006.

Depending on the native language of the fan, the perception of Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic varies widely. For some, he's an overhyped expatriate of obscure Japanese fight culture. For others, he has the most talented lower body -- glutes, quads, the ever-popular hamstring -- next to Pele's.
For those who were weaned on Filipovic's exploits in Japan from 2001 to 2006, HDNet's broadcast of Dream 6 on Tuesday provided further depressing evidence that the once-feared Croatian is nearing the end of his tenure as a heavyweight threat. Battered by inconsistent Alistair Overeem, Cro Cop has not made a significant move since winning Pride's open-weight tournament in 2006.
He's one of several attractions who have struggled in recent months to restore sheen to their careers and make corrections to obvious faults in tactical preparation. At age 34, Filipovic's problems don't seem the result of physical deterioration. He's simply an older make of an athlete who needs an upgrade if he is to remain competitive with today's crop of licensed killers.

Aleksander Emelianenko will be fighting at Affliction’s next mixed martial show in the New Year.
Speaking exclusively to Fighters Only earlier, the Russian heavyweight revealed that he will be heading to the USA soon to film promotional videos for the event.
“I am going back to the States next week to do interviews and make some film for the January event,” he said.
“But I don’t know about any opponent yet, all that is in the process of being sorted out.”
Aleks added that he may also “fight around Christmas-time in Japan”.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com has confirmed through multiple sources that EliteXC has signed Jason Volpe and Nick Denis to contracts.
Denis, a native of Ottawa, Ontario, possesses an unblemished mixed martial arts record of 6-0. Denis currently trains at Ronin MMA and holds victories over the likes of Josh Kyrejto, Josh Gallant, and Chris Myra.
Jason “The Hitman” Volpe possesses a mixed martial arts record of 4-1. Volpe holds victories over the likes of Aaron Barnard, Dave Logan, Dustin Dickerson, and Lino Santoro. Volpe’s sole professional loss came to the hands of Jarid Bussemakers at KOTC: Brawl at the Mall 3.
Also, FiveOuncesOfPain.com has learned that King of the Cage Canada heavyweight champion Tim Hague has signed a one-year contract with EliteXC. No date or opponent has been announced for Hague’s debut.
Hague, a native of Edmonton, Alberta, possesses a mixed martial arts record of 8-1. Hague holds victories over notable names such as UFC veteran Sherman Pendergarst, Ruben Villareal and Jared Kilkenny. Hague’s sole professional loss came via split decision to Miodrag Petkovic at HCF: Destiny.
Hague and Petkovic are currently slated to rematch at Raw Combat: Resurrection on October 25, 2008 at the Calgary Corral. Also featured on the card is a middleweight bout between Denis Kang and Marvin Eastman.

UFC 2009 ‘Undisputed’ is an explosive fighting game detailing the action, intensity and attitude of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Featuring an authentic and comprehensive UFC atmosphere, including an extensive roster of the best mixed martial arts fighters in the world, players will push the envelope with a powerful new game engine and put their best fighting disciplines to the test in the world famous Octagon.

Did i miss something? i don't remember anything being posted about this. apparently don king has ann mma production now. and monson subbed kerr in the main event last night.
boxing's most infamous promoter will quietly make his first foray into MMA tonight with Vengeance FC's debut show in Concord, NC. The card, organized by Don King Productions, is available to stream free of charge online at DonKingTV.com and boasts a main event featuring former UFC and PRIDE heavyweights Mark Kerr and Jeff Monson. The undercard is also loaded with some interesting names, including Carmelo Marrero, TUF7 alum Cale Yarbrough, and local hero John Savage squaring off against Gracie black belt Marcos "Conan" Silveira, a late replacement for mentor Carlson Gracie who makes just his second MMA appearance since 2002 after serving time for his involvement with an ecstasy smuggling ring.

If only one man is standing when the bout ends between Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson and Ken Shamrock, it's a good bet it will be Slice.
While critics have been quick to discount Slice's development as an all-around mixed martial artist, there's no denying that, on his feet, Slice has the ability and the power to knock out whomever is in front of him. And when all the pre-fight picks are in ahead of the Slice versus Shamrock main event match-up on EliteXC CBS Saturday Night Fights on Oct. 4, the consensus will undoubtedly be Slice by KO.
Conventional fight wisdom suggests that the only avenue for victory for Shamrock goes through a submission. The 44-year-old UFC Hall-of-Fame fighter hasn't stopped an opponent with strikes in more than eight years and has looked less and less at home in stand-up mode with each passing round. For Shamrock, the equalizer in the fight will be getting Slice horizontal, a position in which James Thompson was very effective against Slice back in May.
The Bas Rutten-trained fighter was out of his element while pinned on his back, up against the cage against Thompson. It showed a vulnerability that hadn't been exposed in his first two fights, but Slice prefers to look at the upside of overcoming that poor second round.

Former NCAA champ Muhammad Lawal makes a statement with upset over Travis Wiuff at Sengoku
A new mixed martial arts star may have been born Saturday night in Tokyo, Japan during World Victory Road’s Sengoku 5 at the National Yoyogi Stadium. Replacing an injured Roger Gracie against former PRIDE and UFC veteran Travis “Diesel” Wiuff on less than a week’s notice, former NCAA Division II freestyle wrestling champion Muhammad “Mo” Lawal pulled off a dramatic upset win over Wiuff following a first round TKO.
Training out of Team Quest in Temecula, Calif. on a part-time basis the past year, Lawal had been splitting his time between preparing for his MMA debut while also working out at the U.S. Olympic training center in Colorado Springs, Colo. in an attempt to qualify for the Beijing Olympics in the 84 kilogram weight class.

After doing a great fight against Kurt Pellegrino at UFC 88, getting the fight of the night bonus, but being defeated by unanimous decision, Thiago Tavares already knows when he’ll be back to the octagon. Eyeing a victory in the octagon, sources had confirmed that the Minotauro Team fighter will be on the UFC 93 card, that happens at MGM Grand Arena, at Las Vegas, USA, at January 31st. As we reported earlier, the same event will put Lyoto Machida to face Thiago Silva, on the rescheduled fight from UFC 89.

As Brian Stann readies himself for a move from the WEC to the UFC starting with a Dec. 10 UFC Fights for the Troops showdown against old foe Steve Cantwell, the former Marine will prepare for the bout with Greg Jackson and his team in New Mexico.
The fight between Stann and Cantwell will be the third in a series of fights that has seen each of them pick up a TKO victory.
Following a disappointing performance in his last fight, Stann had a conversation with Greg Jackson that convinced him the team in New Mexico was the best place for him to continue to learn and prepare for future fights.
“I met Greg here in Atlanta and we really just hit it off right off the bat. He was just really excited about the possibilities of training me and I think for any fighter that makes you excited,” Stann said in a recent interview with MMAWeekly.com. “For me that was just flattering and motivational at the same time. So I went down there and I was down there for a while and I just really gelled. There’s no egos. It’s just a lot of good guys that are helping each other to our common goals, and I really, really liked it.”